The use of the ultrasound for otorhinolaryngology, head and neck diseases (literature review)

Abstract

Despite the fact that otorhinolaryngologists are already very busy finding a solution to the problem of chronic tonsillitis, it remains unresolved. The prevalence of chronic tonsillitis does not decrease, but rather increases. Diseases of the tonsils are characteristic primarily of the child and adult working population. Chronic tonsillitis attracts attention not only as an independent disease, but as a cause of frequent local and especially systemic complications, which number more than 100. All these facts speak about the unresolved and urgency of the problem of chronic tonsil disease. In the diagnosis of neck diseases, one of the most common methods is ultrasound. It has a number of significant advantages over other methods, such as high sensitivity and specificity, the ability to detect minor changes in the organs, non-invasiveness of the study, painlessness, accessibility, and the absence of ionizing radiation. The aim of the literature review is to identify, analyze, and systematize literature data on the application of the ultrasonic research method in neck organ pathology. Ultrasound diagnostics in the neck is widely used and is actively studied in acute inflammatory-purulent pathology (paratonsillar abscesses, phlegmon), in the pathology of the larynx and trachea, salivary and thyroid glands, as well as in the metastasis of malignant neoplasms to the lymph nodes. There are several methods for diagnosing lymph nodes, such as: puncture and excision biopsy, lymphography, scintigraphy, thermography and ultrasound ultrasound. Despite such a variety of diagnostic methods, ultrasound is the method of choice for imaging cervical lymph nodes. One of the most modern methods in ultrasound diagnostics is elastography. This method is most informative in cases when changes in tissues are small in size and cannot be detected using standard ultrasound modes.

Chronic tonsillitis in adolescents: clinical features and the role of ultrasound diagnosis in the northern region of Ukraine

“…studied the state of the palatine tonsils and lymph nodes in chronic tonsillitis by ultrasound, but only in adults. He differentiated the changes in various forms of the disease and found that patients with the allergic-toxic chronic tonsillitis had more pronounced changes in the tonsils, such as their irregular shape, unclear contours, the presence of additional inclusions, hypoechogenicity [13].…”

“…The main advantages of ultrasound examination are high informativeness, non-invasiveness, safety for children's body, painlessness; it can be used at any age. The use of ultrasound examination of the tonsils in children with chronic tonsillitis is a supplement to the visual examination and it allows to determine the condition of the tonsil tissues, the presence of cysts or scar changes [12,13].…”